


It's Gonna Get a Little Weird

by MagnusPrime12



Series: The Traveler [1]
Category: Marvel (Comics), Star vs. The Forces Of Evil, The Inheritance Cycle - Christopher Paolini
Genre: Gen, Multiple Crossovers, Original Story - Freeform, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-12-03 03:02:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11523177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagnusPrime12/pseuds/MagnusPrime12
Summary: The beginning of the epic saga of The Traveler! A young man finds himself at the center of a conflict that threatens to destroy all worlds, and to save them he must venture into the strangest realm of all: the realm of fiction.





	It's Gonna Get a Little Weird

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! So this is a story I've been working on for six years. I know, that's a long time. It's been reworked and reworked, and now I think I'm finally ready to get it off the ground and on the web. Hope you enjoy!

A blinding flash of light lit up the empty street. A heavy gust of wind tore the leaves from the ground. Overhead the sky thundered with rage and power. But the light that brightened the street had not come from lightning.

Out of the light stepped a young man. He was not tall, but his limbs were long and thin. He wore a dark jacket with a long hood that obscured most of his face. On his wrist rested a device with a series of buttons attached to a long, brown leather strap. As he walked beyond the light it vanished, leaving the street dark once again.

The boy brought his arm up to his mouth, pressed a button on the device, and spoke into it. “Warren, did I reach the target destination?”

“You're clear, kid.” A voice from the device assured. “Your coordinates match the ones we picked up from the enemy systems.”

“Do you know how many came through?” the boy asked.

“Hard to say.” Warren answered. “Their portal only opened once, but it was open for a good while. I'd guess no more than eight got through.”

“Eight, huh?” the boy said. “If that's the case then I may need backup after all. Is the package ready for deployment?”

“Prepped and ready to go.” Warren said, but the boy heard a hint of warning in his tone. “But if we do this it could end up exposing us to the public. Are we ready to take that risk?”

“If we don't stop them we'll be in even greater danger than if we were exposed.” the boy said. “It's do or die time, and personally, I've got better things to do tonight than die.”

“Fair enough. I'll keep the dimensional gate on standby. Just give the order and I'll send the package through.”

“Thank you.” the boy said. “Time for some thrilling heroics.”

“Seriously?” Warren asked. The boy couldn't see him, but he was fairly certain Warren's eyes were rolling. “You're not a superhero, you know.”

“And why not?” the boy asked. “After all, this is what superheroes do, isn't it? We save the world.”

* * *

Katherine stepped out of the library and began her daily journey home. She felt the familiar spring in her step from whenever she had finally managed to find a book she had had difficulty searching for. Her satisfaction showed in her quick, confident stride. She made her way down the brightly lit street, past the towering Gothic church, and then turned to enter the residential area behind the church and its parking lot. It was a way she had traveled down many times, and she was as familiar with it as she was with the necklace she wore around her throat.

The neighborhood was a quiet one. No drivers passed by Katherine as she walked home. There were several streetlights, but large trees shrouded the houses from their illumination. The houses were modest, with middling-sized yards and simple but effective doors. It was the picture of suburbia.

So when a trio of smoke bombs suddenly flooded the area with gas it was quite the shock to Katherine's system. She struggled to cough out the smoke, and her eyes quickly teared up. About five feet away she heard something that sounded like metal clashing against metal. Panic seized her as she frantically tried to stumble away from the noise. Before she could get far she felt someone grab her arm tightly. Whoever had her began to pull her away with might enough to keep her from resisting. She wasn't sure what was happening, but it left her shivering with fear.

Then a bright light flashed, and the smoke cleared almost instantly. The sudden flash combined with the effects of the smoke forced Katherine's eyes closed. She felt the hand restraining her release its grip, and heard a body hit the ground beside her with a loud thump. She opened her eyes and saw a heavyset brute clad in black tactical gear lying on the pavement, and in front of him a young man. The man wore a dark jacket and hood, and stood at the same height as Katherine. He turned his head to look into her eyes and reached for her hand. He said in a steady, urgent voice “Come with me if you want to live.”

Katherine blinked in surprise. Then she rolled her eyes and said “Seriously? You're quoting Terminator right now?”

“Hey, it's a classic!” the boy said indignantly. “Besides that, it's true. Come, you live. Stay, you die.”

“Well, how can I refuse that invitation?” she asked sarcastically.

The boy nodded and the two began running back up the street. Katherine glanced behind her to see the streetlights going out. Whoever the people who had been trying to grab her were, they were thorough. Speaking of which...

“So who were those guys?” She asked the boy.

“Long story.” he said. “Let's just say they're after something only you can give them.”

“They have a funny way of asking for it.” she said sardonically.

“Darkondus and his followers don't ask. You either give it to them or they take it.”

“Darkondus?” Katherine said, raising her eyebrows. “Who names their kid that?”

“He took the name himself.” the boy replied. “Like I said, it's a long story, and running from bad guys isn't the time to tell it.”

“So where are we going?” Katherine asked.

“Somewhere more public. It'll keep them divided as they try to keep others from seeing us.”

They turned a corner, and then Katherine asked “Why don't they want to be seen?”

“If they're exposed to the public, it makes it harder for them to carry out their operations.” the boy said. “I managed to take out three of them, but there are five more behind us.”

Just then two operatives jumped out in front of them. The boy quickly turned right and began leading Katherine in the new direction.

“Okay, make that seven.” the boy said.

They continued running through the yards when two more jumped down from the roofs in front of them.

“Nine? Really, Warren?” the boy said, his tone exasperated.

He turned again and began heading towards the old church Katherine had passed when she started on her way home. He brought his free wrist up to his mouth and pressed a button with his chin. Then he spoke into it, saying “Warren, we've got trouble! It wasn't eight agents, it's twelve!”

“Twelve?! Oh great, now what do we do?” a voice from the device asked.

“Lock onto my signal, I'm going to try to get to higher ground.” the boy said. “It's time to send the package.”

The boy dropped his wrist and turned to look at Katherine. “Is the door to that church locked?”

“It should be right now, why?” she asked.

“Because in that case, we're gonna have to break down the door.” he answered.

No sooner had he said it than they were at the obstacle in question. Katherine watched as he gathered his strength and delivered a powerful kick to the door, forcing it open. She looked on stunned. The boy may not have looked like much, but he clearly had power in his body.

He turned to her and asked “Do you know which way leads to the top of the spire?”

She nodded and lead him down the hall, and then through a door to a stairwell. They began climbing through the sparsely lit building. Katherine's blood pumped with both excitement and fear at this chase. As frightening as nearly being kidnapped by armed thugs was, she couldn't deny that there was something exhilarating about this experience.

The two reached the top of the stairwell quickly. Katherine led the boy down the new hall and suddenly remembered an important detail. She said to the boy “There's only one way to the top of the spire. If we go there, we'll be cornered.”

The boy shook his head and flashed her a mischievous grin. “Don't worry about that.” he said. “I've got firepower coming.”

Katherine had no idea what he was planning, but he seemed confident that it would succeed. So she continued leading him through the church, and they finally reached the the spiral staircase that led to the top. It was a long way up, but adrenaline had kicked into her system, and she was making her way up swiftly and surely. They reached the top of the stairs and came out into a small room with a large window before a balcony hanging out over the town.

Just as they were exiting, Katherine felt a hand grab her ankle, causing her to trip and fall. She hit the ground with a heavy thud. Someone was pulling her leg back down the stairs. She grabbed at the floor to try and stop from being yanked back. But the boy was one step ahead. He grabbed a strange sort of gun out of his jacket and shot at the agent holding Katherine. A ball of fire sprang from the gun and hit the agent, setting him ablaze. He howled in pain and reeled back, losing his balance and falling over the railing.

Katherine sprung back to her feet and ran towards the boy. Turning to him with shocked eyes, she asked him “Now what do we do?”

The boy motioned for her to follow him towards the balcony. She followed him there until he said “Alright, I know what I'm about to say sounds crazy, but when I say jump, we need to jump off the balcony.”

Katherine's jaw dropped. “Are you crazy?” she asked. “If we jump from this height we'll either be dead or so beat up we might as well be!”

“We'll be caught well before that happens.” the boy assured her.

“By what?”

“You wouldn't believe me if I told you.” he said. Then he activated his wrist communicator and asked “Warren, is the package ready?”

“Package is flying in, should be there in a minute.” Warren answered.

“Good.” the boy said. “Keep the lock on my signal and put the gate on standby. We're gonna be coming in hot.”

“Roger that. See you shortly.”

The boy brought his wrist down and turned to Katherine. His shoulders slackened and he seemed to let go of the tension in his body, or at least most of it. “Listen to me.” he said in a soft voice. “I know this is pretty insane, but things are only going to get weirder from here on out. I can protect you, but I need you to work with me. Understand?”

Katherine didn't know how to respond. The last ten minutes had been completely disorienting. One moment she was making her regular walk home, the next she was running for her life. But whatever had been going on, this boy was clearly trying to defend her. Didn't that warrant some level of trust?

“Alright,” she finally answered. “But when we're not fleeing for our lives you have to explain what's going on. Deal?”

The boy nodded and replied “Deal.”

Then a voice cried out from the bottom of the stairwell “They're up there! We've got them cornered!”

The boy looked back to Katherine and said “Get to the balcony. I'll hold them off.”

Katherine moved out of the attic and watched as the boy retrieved his gun and turned a knob on it. He took aim and fired it down the stairwell. It was difficult to make out, but Katherine thought she saw him fire a blast of ice out of the gun. A loud thud came from the stairwell, and the boy fired again, causing another thud.

Suddenly the boy's head snapped up and his hairs stood on end. He ran back over to Katherine and climbed over the railing on the balcony. He turned his head to Katherine and exclaimed “We need to jump!”

“But there's nothing there but the ground!” Katherine yelled back.

“If we don't go now, you're going to be captured.” the boy said. Then he raised his head, and for the first time, Katherine saw his eyes. “Trust me.” he said.

The pleading look in his eyes spoke volumes. Katherine sighed, then pulled her legs over the railing.

The boy nodded, then looked out across the sky. Finally he yelled “Jump, now!”

Katherine closed her eyes and let go of the railing. She felt the air rush upwards as she plummeted towards the ground. The seconds seemed to go by like hours. One, two, three, four, five – then it stopped.

She felt her body hit something hard, but leathery. Opening her eyes, she saw she was lying atop a large saddle, with the boy in front of her. His arms clutched a long column of golden scales. To their left and right were a pair of long wings. It was then that Katherine realized just what had caught them.

“This-” she stammered. “This is a dragon!”

“His name is Glensing.” the boy said. “He was under a magic spell to prevent anyone but me from seeing him. Wouldn't want the townsfolk getting worried about a dragon flying around.”

“But where did he come from? How did he know where to find us? And where is he taking us?”

“We're taking you somewhere safe.” the boy said. Then he brought his communicator back up to his mouth and ordered “Warren, activate the gate now.”

Mere seconds after he said it an incredible light leaped out in front of them. Katherine moved her arms up to shield her eyes from the great flash. She lowered her arms when the light dimmed, and saw a large portal in front of her. The dragon flew towards it and they passed through, vanishing from the night sky.


End file.
